


Vimes Meets Stoker Blake

by Multiple_Universes



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: Canon Universe, Gen, Missing Scene
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-03-22
Updated: 2017-03-22
Packaged: 2018-10-09 08:23:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 559
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10407954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Multiple_Universes/pseuds/Multiple_Universes
Summary: I don't believe that Sam Vimes didn't meet Stoker Blake, so this is how I imagine their meeting went. Set during Raising Steam and slight spoilers if you don't know who Stoker Blake is.





	

There were engineering things still happening, despite the number of engineers Vimes and Moist had tucked away in beds throughout the train. The Commander stepped out for a smoke, having done with the paperwork at least for the time being. This turned quickly into a stroll down the train that wasn’t unlike a patrol.

One of the carriages he passed was full of stokers on their break and he nodded at them as he walked by.

Soon he was in front of the engine itself where a lone stoker was shovelling coal. He raised his head and Vimes nodded absent-mindedly before freezing as he caught the man’s eye and his features registered.

 _You_ would _be here, wouldn’t you?_ he thought.

“Commander Sam Vimes,” he said as he would to a man he’d never met.

“Stoker Blake.”

They stood in silence, all topics of conversation exhausted. Vimes waited long enough for it not to look like he was running away when he left, but the Stoker’s voice stopped him the moment Vimes turned to go.

“Can I offer you a hard-boiled egg, Commander?”

Vimes opened his mouth for a sarcastic remark when the sound of footsteps reached his ears.

Two stokers stepped in and Blake let them take over. He stood in the doorway, waiting for Vimes to answer his question.

“To hell with it,” Vimes muttered under his breath. “You can get hard-boiled eggs, Stoker?”

“Yes, of course.”

Vimes tossed the stub of his cigar out the window and followed him to a small compartment just big enough for two people to sit in. The stoker rummaged in his things and produced two cold hard-boiled eggs.

They ate in silence. Vimes eyed Blake wearily, debating whether or not to broach the obvious question of “why”.

“Are you… enjoying your job?” The question sounded stupid once he’d said it.

Blake removed his cap and leaned back with his eyes closed. He remained that way for a while and Vimes wondered if he’d fallen asleep.

It didn’t look like he was going to get an answer to his question in any case. He rose to his feet and reached out for the door’s handle.

“Leaving so soon, Vimes?” It was said in a tone of voice he knew all too well.

“There’s paperwork that’s waiting for me,” he lied.

“Paperwork only the Commander can do?”

“Yes.”

Outside the sky was starting to lighten. Vimes thought about the bed in his compartment and how far away it was.

Blake shifted over slightly, still without opening his eyes.

Vimes sat down on the floor next to him and drifted off.

 

He awoke several hours later when the sun was shining in through the window. The sound of a closing door jolted him awake. He jumped to his feet and reached for the handle. He hesitated for a moment as an odd thought occurred to him: what if he’d been locked in?

And then he heard a soft chuckle. “Indeed.”

Vimes took hold of the handle.

“Don’t let me detain you,” the man on the other side of the door said just loud enough for Vimes to hear.

The handle turned and Vimes stepped out into the hallway, but it was empty.

As he went back to his watchmen Vimes tried to shake the thought that he’d slept in the same room as Vetinari.


End file.
